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Disco Fruit
Serious Edits Vol 26EXCLUSIVE
Review: Nine years after volume one landed on Junodownload, Loshmi (AKA Serbian nu-disco scene stalwart Tonbe) is back with the series' 26th instalment. He begins with the thunderous, peak-time-ready assault of 'Swat', a tweak of a gnarly rock-guitar sporting OTT orchestral workout underpinned by thumping house drums, before offering up the rolling, synth-sporting pop-goes-house roll of 'Lady'. Loshmi dives into his collection of glossy '80s electrofunk/boogie jams on 'Knock It', a deliciously squelchy, colourful and soulful affair, before rounding off another rock-solid re-edit EP with the Balearic acoustic guitar solos, dreamy chords, Flamenco vocals and chunky house beats of 'Train Running'.
LemonsEXCLUSIVE
Played by: Tonbe
Review: Serbian disco fruit from Tonbe, a producer releasing candy-heeled dance wares for some 15 years now. For Disco Fruit yet again he brings the heat, with the title track kicking off heavy and deep before those righteous chords roll in. Heavier and dubbed out still is "Weekend Fever" with its thick filters and French house sampling twist. Funkier numbers come from "Too Far Away" next to a minimal '70s electro cuts in "Robot Drivel" and '90s R&B via "Groupie Love". Get your west coast sh*t from "Turn It Up" next to the solid states of "Unchained". When life gives you lemons make lemonade.
Serious Edits Vol 25EXCLUSIVE
Review: Nine years on from the release of his first EP of 'Serious Edits', Loshmi adds a 25th volume to the popular series. As usual, what's on offer is a clutch of cuts that add beefed-up, house style beats and tidy effects to mostly under-celebrated disco jams. Basically, they're all tried-and-tested, house style re-edits aimed at peak-time dancefloors. Highlights include the Clavinet-heavy, arpeggio-driven stomp of 'Virgin Dance', the swirling strings, impassioned lead vocals and bouncy disco grooves of 'Mother Jackson', and the deliciously camp Italo-not-Italo throb of 'Sexy Sexy Girls'. File under: "guaranteed party starters".
This Is The NightEXCLUSIVE
Review: Three tracks in a total of five mixes make up this latest offering from Serbian main man Tonbe. First up is 'Tonight', which tops a walking bassline and plinky-plonk 80s synths with a very sweet n' poppy female vocal, though the latter's obviously absent from the accompanying instrumental. 'Ruler & Queen' is a quirky, shuffling affair that's likewise available with or without the plainitive vocal, but for this reviewer's money the standout here is 'Disco Baby', a contemporary boogie-style jam with an indecipherable male vocal and more bounce 'n' wiggle to its bottom end than is frankly decent.
Under The LightEXCLUSIVE
Disco Fruit Selection Vol 10EXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbian disco producer extraordinaire Tonbe once more teams up with his Montenegran counterpart Mitiko, as well as with himself in his Loshmi re-editor guise. Loshmi's uptempo rework of Dillinger's 'Cocaine' gets the ball rolling, after which come takes on Chaka Khan's 'I'm Every Woman', The Flirts' 'Passion' and The Salsoul Orchestra's 'Take Some Time Out For Love', plus a brace of unidentified Latin cuts. After that come three cuts from Mitiko, with 'In Your Soul' drawing heavily on Soul Children's 'Stir Up The Boogie' from 1978 and 'Morning Talkbox' bringing the Zapp-isms, before Tonbe plays us out with three tracks of his own, including the rumbustious 'Funkstar' and the Alpha Blondy-biting 'Sabari'.
Serious Edits Vol 24EXCLUSIVE
Funkstar 2023EXCLUSIVE
Serious Edits Vol 23EXCLUSIVE
Hold OnEXCLUSIVE
House ThingEXCLUSIVE
Review: Almost wish Tonbe would make a bad record, just so I didn't feel like such a gushing fanboi, but it hasn't happened yet! The Serbian don's latest 15-track outing finds him, as the title suggests, firmly in house mode, with all 15 cuts aimed fair and square at the dancefloor, but still manages to encompass enough variety to ensure things never get dull. 'Bright Days', for instance, is a very musical affair that evidences jazz-funk influences and sports a preacherman vocal, while 'Drive Me Around' is percussion-driven and comes topped with a late 80s-style rap. But it's the deep 'n' dreamy, piano-sprinkled grooves and sultry diva vox of 'You Gotta Dance' that lead the charge for this reviewer.
Serious Edits Vol 22EXCLUSIVE
Review: Ever-prolific Serbian disco don Tonbe once more assumes his Loshmi re-editor's mantle to bring us reworks of 11 dancefloor gems from days gone by. Opening with Chaka Khan's 'Every Woman' is a tad misleading, because he's mostly opted for slightly less obvious (and, for time reasons, largely unidentified) source material, drawing mostly on 80s boogie and electrofunk for inspiration - though there's time enough for some raw James Brown stompery (see 'Up Or Down'), and you just might hear a hint of his Princeness in there as well! There's a pleasing circularity, too, to the inclusion of 'I Feel', another Chaka rework, as the album approaches its end.
Morning TalkboxEXCLUSIVE
Review: A treat for Mitiko fans this week, as the Montenegran nu-disco stalwart serves up an EP for Tonbe's Disco Fruit label that packs a whopping seven cuts with nary a duffer in sight. The title track is a languid jazz-funker that makes extensive use of the titular FX unit/instrument, and sets the tone nicely for an EP that starts out in funk and disco territory (with the wigged-out 60s organs on 'Best Thing' a notable highlight) then veers into housier pastures as it goes on, before dropping the tempo once more for 'Gone Away For Good' and 'Electronic Rhythm', the latter's piano licks and jazz trumpet bringing the EP to a very classy close.
Serious Edits Vol 21EXCLUSIVE
Serious Edits Vol 20EXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbian nu-disco stalwart Tonbe once more assumes his Loshmi mantle to bring us five re-edits that draw largely on Latin sources. Opener 'Don't Know' revisits George McCrae's 'You Don't Know' from 1978, while 'Pasa' (source unknown) has a vaguely Fatback-esque feel. The originals of the other three, we have to confess, have our disco detectives well and truly beat, but suffice to say this EP would make a good companion piece to Rare Wiri's 'Spanish Delight' V/A, which packs three similarly styled jams and which is also out this week. So you should probably just buy both, hint hint hint!
Serious Edits Vol 19EXCLUSIVE
Review: In which everyone's favourite Serbian disco don Tonbe reassumes his Loshmi re-editor's mantle and serves up six more reworks of vintage dancefloor nuggets. Somewhat frustratingly, the source for opener 'Bring Out' has us beat, but think late 70s/early 80s funk from the Cameo/Zapp school of thought. Elsewhere, we get Loshmi's take on (in order) George McCrae's 'I Get Lifted' from 1974, Salsoul Orchestra's 'Take Some Time Out For Love' from 1982, CC Catch's 1986 Euro hit 'Cause You Are Young', Gayle Adams' 'Don't Blame It On Me' from 1982 and lastly Kool & The Gang's 'Be My Lady' from 1981.
Disco Fruit Selection Vol 9EXCLUSIVE
Review: On the whole, it might be better if Milos Djordjevic (Tonbe/Loshmi) and Sasha Mitich (Mitiko) weren't quite so talented - that way, yours truly wouldn't have written so many glowing reviews of their releases that it's getting quite embarrassing now. I should probably just buy a set of Tonbe pillowcases and have done with it! Anyway, here's another joint outing from the two Balkan boogie merchants, which - like previous installments - includes a mix of new and previously released material, spans funk, disco, boogie and soul, and features both original (albeit often sample-based) productions and Loshmi's masterly reworkings of cuts from Barbara Streisand, Mark Morrison and more. Sterling stuff all round - again, just like previous installments.
Through The ShadowsEXCLUSIVE
Review: Why Tonbe isn't more widely renowned is a mystery: for my money, he's one of the most accomplished and consistent producers working in the modern disco arena. And oh BOY does he have a way with a drawn-out stab! He proves the latter once more on 'Come Around', a midtempo jam that you can call disco, soul or boogie as you see fit, and which comes with or without the harmonised male and female vocals. There are some superb jazz keys on 'Late Night Burbon', too, but the stone-cold killer is 'I Wanna Be With You' - file under "deep, smooth, sultry, gorgeous".
Generate LoveEXCLUSIVE
RulesEXCLUSIVE
Review: There was a time when Tonbe was sticking out a fresh EP almost every week. While the Serb is still prolific, he's calmed down a bit in recent times, wisely prioritising quality over quantity. Rules, the nu-disco scene stalwart's latest release, is highly enjoyable and naturally packed with peak-time ready treats. Check first opener 'Rules of the Dance', a chunky, filter-sporting slab of disco-funk/French touch fusion that's as weighty and excitable as they come, before getting your ears around the loved-up deliciousness of glassy-eyed '80s soul re-edit 'Better Than This' (and its accompanying instrumental mix). Elsewhere, 'Dusty Floor' sees him add echo-laden guitar links and jammed out electric piano motifs to a bubbly, post-electro beat, while 'Perfect Plan' is a sun-splashed slab of Balearic boogie with added deep house weight.
One WayEXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbian nu disco don Tonbe reassumes his Loshmi re-edit disguise for this six-tracker on his own Disco Fruit. A cheeky refix of Barbara Streisand's early 80s soul classic 'Woman In Love' serves as the lead track and and is presented in vocal and dub flavas, followed closely by an endlessly looping instrumental take on 'Return Of The Mack' that'll have you running off to find an acapella pronto! Elsewhere, 'Going Home' and 'Drive Around' draw on unidentified sources from somewhere around the Kraftwerk/Yello region, while the squelchy 'Rock Baby' has an early 80s Euro/electro feel. But 'In Love' is the killer.
Fancy DancerEXCLUSIVE
Review: This latest album-length excursion by Montenegran nu disco regular Sasha Mitich finds him largely exploring and expressing his love for all things 80s - perhaps never more so than on 'Someone Like You', which could have come straight from the soundtrack of some coming-of-age movie starring at least one of the Brat Pack. Elsewhere, 'Back To Funk' brings the 80s boogie vibes, 'Woman Saying' recalls the likes of Fern Kinney or The Captain & Tenille and 'Your Life' slips in some cheeky Bee Gees bites, but the standout by far is the ultra-funky 'Fancy Dancer', a rework of the Commodores cut of the same name from 1976.
Powerful FunkEXCLUSIVE
Review: Tonbe's music has spanned a range of styles from Balearica to boogie, but when he calls his latest long-playing offering 'Postive Funk' you kinda know what to expect, don't you? Thankfully the titular promise is one on which he more than delivers, with the album striking a nice balance between raw, 70s-sounding funkers like 'Funkstar' and 'Dig It', and more 80s- or pop-flavoured nuggets such as 'Ain't Nothing Wrong' or 'Live My Life'. Highlights for yours truly include '15th Street' (home to some extremely cool Hammond licks) as well as 'Another Bite', which takes some downright liberties with a Queen classic.
GulfEXCLUSIVE
Review: A new five-tracker from Montenegran nu-disco stalwart Mitiko is always something to take note of, and this latest Disco Fruit offering doesn't disappoint. The EP starts out in chunked-up boogie territory with 'Triton Funk', which sports some killer 80s sax work, and ends with the blissed-out Balearic pop of 'Again'. In-between you'll find the sunny, horn-soaked Latin vibes of 'El Sonido De Catarro' and a serviceable cover of Bugz classic 'Simmer Down'... oh, and what for this writer is by far the standout, 'Jazz Da Primavera', which fuses jazz and garage tropes in a fashion that's reminiscent of vintage Eight Ball material, or possibly early Nice N' Ripe.
LimitEXCLUSIVE
Review: The ever-prolific Tonbe steps up with his latest EP, which features four tracks in a total of six mixes. "My Family" kicks us off in pulsing, surging disco-house/nu-disco territory, and is followed by "To The Limit", which finds the Serbian stalwart veering towards 00s soulful house territory. There are more straight-up house vibes on closer "Thank You", a spritely piano romp graced by the unmistakeable tonsils of certain Mr Owens, but only after we've had "Funk Me", an irresistible combination of a big, dirty funker of a bassline and a markedly Crystal Waters-ish vocal loop. It's rare for a Tonbe set not to come packing at least one stone cold killer, and this time out, "Funk Me" fits the bill admirably.
Two Bags Of GrassEXCLUSIVE
Review: I've no idea whether Mitiko actually intended the title of this seven-track offering to double as a 'serving suggestion' but it certainly works as one, as the Montenegran disco stalwart gives the dancefloor stompers a swerve and turns his energies to ploughing a much more laidback furrow. The shimmering piano chords and lazy, low-slung b-line that kick off 'Only Yours' set the tone for an album that seldom gets above walking pace but still manages to cram in nods to a wide range of influences - see, for instance, 'Phase One''s genius marriage of a Phuture vocal snip to some superbly smooooooooooth jazz-funk geetar licks, and was that a cheeky James Ingram bassline too? File under mellow horizontal loveliness.
World BeyondEXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbian disco stalwart Milo? Đorđević AKA Tonbe AKA Loshmi brings us what is simultaneously one of his housiest EPs to date and one of his most varied. 'Shy Town' opens with crisp 4/4s before settling down into a smoother funk/soul ride. 'If You Want Me', with its archetypal Tonbe combo of a fragile female vocal and some absolute killer stabs, is arguably the lead track as it comes in Vocal and Dub flavas, while completing the EP are the Om/Naked-esque soulful house groover that is 'Over You' and 'Angel', a floaty, drifty affair with a wistful female vocal. Good stuff as ever from a producer that doesn't get half the attention he deserves.
Magic EPEXCLUSIVE
Review: Here comes Montenegro's ever-reliable Sasha Mitich with a three-tracker for Serbian label Disco Fruit. 'Look For The Magic' places an infuriatingly familiar-sounding "life can be so stressful" diva vocal atop lashings of fat, squelchy bass, while 'Simmer Down' reworks Reel People's (now 20-year-old!) broken beat/soulful house classic of the same name. 'You Are The One', meanwhile, rocks another diva vocal snip ("sometimes I say I'm through with you", not the Jocelyn one you're thinking of) which it pairs with crisp, lively percussion and an intricate but still impressively hefty b-line. All told, three cheeky sample-based groovers that'll keep 'em shimmying along nicely.
Neon DistrictEXCLUSIVE
Played by: Tonbe
Review: Four tracks in a total of six mixes make up this latest EP from ever-prolific Serbian discomeister Tonbe. 'Never Let Me Go' is up first, blending late 70s/early 80s jazz-funk and contemporary pop influences and coming in vocal and dub flavas. There's a distinct pop feel, too, to the 80s-influenced 'New Vision' and 'Robbery In Progress' - both all bright analogue synths and lashings of cowbell - which just leaves us with the two rubs of 'So Real', which continues in the same 80s pop-leaning groove established by the two previous cuts and is available, again, with or without the female vocal.
Disco Fruit Sampler 03EXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbia's Disco Fruit bring us an EP packing one track apiece from some of the biggest names on the contemporary disco scene. 'My Dream Come True' from Mexican fave Hotmood is a hazy, looping affair with a soulful male vocal, while Montenegro's Mitiko reworks Fatback classic 'Do The Bus Stop' as 'Are You Ready'. We stay in re-edit mode as label boss Tonbe, in his Loshmi guise, revists Jimmy Bo Horne's 'Is It In?' on 'Yes It Is', before finally Brian SNR closes out the EP with 'Wanna Kiss You', which sports an almost punk-funk/new wave-style vocal and some glorlously cheesy 80s sax work.
Best Of 2021EXCLUSIVE
Review: Last month saw two East European disco favourites, Serbia's Tonbe AKA Loshmi and Montenegro's Mitiko, joining forces for a split EP on the former's Disco Fruit label. Now the same imprint brings us this joint collection that gathers together the best of the two producers' 2021 output, in all three of their guises. The tracks involved are a mixture of re-edits, covers and original material; more importantly, both producers are ludicrously prolific, which means they had a huge catalogue to draw from. And that in turn means there's nary a track that puts a foot wrong here - making this an essential purchase for anyone who hasn't picked these cuts up on various EPs along the way.
All I Care ForEXCLUSIVE
Review: Ludicrously prolific Montenegran producer Sascha Mitich needs no introduction to disco buyers, and now here comes his latest offering, which packs seven 70s-tastic re-edits. Among those sources we can identify this time around are Donna Summer's 'Rumour Has It', The Gibson Brothers' 'What A Life' and 'You' (presented here as 'All I Care About Is You' ) and an unidentified, male-sung take on 'I Can See Clearly Now', while of the tracks whose origin remains unknown, the standout for this reviewer is 'But It's Funky Music', whose gloriously cheesy squealin' Moogs give it something of a US sitcom theme vibe.
Musica LatinaEXCLUSIVE
Review: What we have here is arguably the first ever two-man disco threeway, as Serbian disco don Tonbe (Milo? Đorđević) teams up with his Montenegran oppo Mitiko (Sasha Mitich) and himself in his Loshmi guise. As for the album that's emerged from their joint efforts, well, the clue's in the title, as the two nu-disco stalwarts dive into a big cupboard full of flamenco guitars, marimbas and mariachi trumpets, and come out clutching 10 Latin-infused dancefloor shakers built for effortless grooving in the summer sunshine. Highlights, you ask? Check the low-slung funk of 'Con Sabrosura' or the jazzy shuffle of 'Portoriko'.
Passion For FruitEXCLUSIVE
Played by: Tonbe
Review: Tonbe's super-prolific output never ceases to amaze - he seems to churn out album-length releases on an almost monthly basis, and this writer is yet to encounter one that didn't include at least one or two stone-cold killers. In this case, I'd refer you to the sultry, grown-up, Stonebridge-esque house-pop of 'All I Need', and specifically the drop that occurs around the 3:20 mark - pure class. Also worthy of note are 'Trabajar' with its attention-getting bass-y intro, complex percussion and Afro vox, and closer 'For This Joy' with its rave-tastic bassline and cheeky Fedde Le Grand-nodding "put your hands up for this joy" vocal. And if you like those, there are seven more where they came from - and doubtless 10 more in just another few weeks!
Turbo FlopEXCLUSIVE
Review: Three varied cuts make up this latest EP from Montenegran nu-disco stalwart Mitiko, coming on Tonbe's Disco Fruit. The EP opens with 'Turbo Flop', a moody, atmospheric affair with an undulating main synth riff that's similar in cadence to a Native American chant, and that's augmented from around the 1:30 mark by plangent electric guitar. 'Kaskazi Muziki' is a more uptempo cut with a plinky-plonk synth hook, fat funk bass and a male vocal in an unidentified language, and will work on house and disco floors alike, while the slow-grindin', Hammond-flecked 'Running Into You' drops the tempo once more and takes us a little closer to traditional funk/soul pastures.
Serious Edits Vol 18EXCLUSIVE
Review: The Serbian disco magician known as Tonbe once more dons his Loshmi guise to get busy on the re-edits tip, bringing us his reinventions of four classic cuts of yore. 'Automatik' doesn't actually differ too much from The Pointer Sisters' original, except for getting a bit wonkier and druggier in the breakdown; somewhat more radical in approach are his reworkings of David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' and Ray Parker Jr's 'Ghostbusters', but for sheer brass neck the prize goes to 'Dark Night', which somehow manages to drag Deep Purple's 'Black Night' kicking and screaming onto the disco dancefloor.
Closer To MeEXCLUSIVE
Review: By our reckoning Serbia's Milos Djordjevic, better known as Tonbe, has AT LEAST a dozen album-length releases to his name, but he shows no signs of slowing down just yet! Here comes another one, wherein fairly 'authentic-sounding' disco and boogie grooves like 'Closer' and 'Golden Days' are interspersed with more lounge-y and Latin-flavoured cuts such as 'Varadero' and 'Ven Pa Ca'. Elsewhere, Tonbe flirts with the sound of West African reggae on 'Senegalese' while 'El Mariachi' brings the Western movie theme vibes, before the album comes to a close with a slab of heavy, geetar-squawlin' Blaxploitation funk in the form of 'Beat Me Like A Funk'.
My TouchEXCLUSIVE
Played by: Tonbe
Review: He's by far better known for his disco output but as this full-length offering shows, the Serbian don known variously as Tonbe and Loshmi is no slouch in the house department either! Recent single 'Rotate', featuring the golden tonsils of Robert Owens, sets out the album's stall nicely, with the remaining nine tracks ranging from the lounge-y 'Journey To Downtown' with its vibes and sax, via the reggae-tinged 'Dub Thing', to the organ-led NJ garage vibes of 'Right Here Right Now', the uplifting piano stomp of 'Take Me Higher' and the positively sublime closer 'Beside Me'. A triumph.
Delicious LPEXCLUSIVE
Review: Over the past five years Mexico's Guillermo Gonzalez Santana, better known as Hotmood, had dropped a good 30 or so singles/EPs on a number of imprints including Tonbe's Disco Fruit, who now round up his previous output for the label in album form. Regular disco buyers may have most of what's here in their collections already, then, but if you've yet to get acquainted this is the perfect opportunity to do so, with standouts including the irresistible lil' jazzy, funky hip-wriggler that is 'Mr Funkyman', the laidback, handclap-tastic disco groove of 'My Disco Collection' and the looping cut-up soul of 'Clean Cuts'.
Serious Edits Vol 17EXCLUSIVE
Played by: Tonbe
Review: The artist often known as Tonbe returns to regular home Disco Fruit with five more Serious Edits for those who like their disco colourful, synth-heavy and with a subtle house twist. After opening with the P-funk-influenced, cowbell-sporting swirl of 'Bomb on Me', the Serbian producer delivers two versions (vocal and dub) of 'Physic', a cheery, squelchy tweak of the Olivia Newton-John track of the same name with added house pianos. Elsewhere, 'Fantasy' is a low-slung revision of what sounds like a classic Talking Heads cut, while 'Waiting' is a slo-mo Balearic treat full of glistening guitars, tactile AOR grooves and sunset-ready synthesizer chords.
EssenceEXCLUSIVE
Review: The titles here might suggest a re-edits EP but rest assured the five tracks ARE actually original, albeit sample-based, productions. 'Step Off The Train', for instance, does indeed bite EBTG's 'Missing' as you'd expect, but simply takes a two-line vocal snip and loops it up over a slo-mo grinder that sits right on the deep house/nu-disco cusp, while 'Oops Upside' is another house/disco fusion that draws not on The Gap Band but on a female-sung cover thereof. So let's not worry about sources and inspirations and just say these are five classy midtempo groovers that'll suit more discerning nu-disco floors down to the ground.
Good TasteEXCLUSIVE
Review: There are producers out there who'll spend months agonising over a snare sound or a clap, and who'll turn out maybe two or three tracks a year. At the other end of the spectrum are artists like Tonbe, who are seemingly capable of knocking together an album's worth of material by lunchtime, and frequently do! Both approaches can, of course, turn up gold - in this case, see the wonky Hammond shuffle that is 'Funker', or the summery good-time funk of 'Pontiac GTO'. This latest offering also finds Tonbe exploring poppier territory on cuts like 'Sugar' and 'Don't Let Me Go'.
Disco Fruit Sampler 02EXCLUSIVE
Review: Here's one of those releases that really doesn't need a lot of explaining - anyone with even a passing interest in nu-disco should be more than familiar with all four artists involved, as well as the label! Hotmood brings the 70s vibes on the string-drenched, guitar-flecked 'You Are A Star', C Da Afro fast-forwards to the 80s boogie era with the shiny-suited 'So Good For Me', while Loshmi arguably gets the most inventive, mixing up Afro, Latin and spy movie soundtrack vibes on 'Regah'. It's the lazy, laidback funk/jazz-funk of Mitiko's 'Back To Dance', though, that takes the gold.
StompEXCLUSIVE
Review: This is at least the tenth album-length release that Montenegro's Sascha Mitich has produced for Serbian label Disco Fruit, a work rate rivalled only by label boss Tonbe (AKA Loshmi). As ever, the seven tracks featured here blur the lines between re-edits and sample-based productions, with the energetic, good time Afro-tropical vibes of 'Desperately' (think Barrabas, Osibisa) the standout for this reviewer, and the Hammond-sporting (and fairly self-explanatory) 'Foot Stompin' Music' a close second. A lounge-y cover of Stevie Wonder classic 'Ma Cherie Amour' may prove a little more Marmite ("you either love it or hate it"), but isn't without its charms.
All About GroovesEXCLUSIVE
Review: The trouble with Tonbe is you've no sooner finished reviewing one long-player than the next one arrives! With such a prolific output, it's all the more wonder that the Serbian nu-disco stalwart manages to maintain the quality standard - but make no mistake, quality is what you get here. One or two tracks (eg opener 'Live My Life') veer a little too far down the pop route, but just check out the strutty 'This Is Party', euphoric Hammond workout 'Change The Mood' or the jazz-tastic closing triptych that begins with 'Keep On Moving, Keep On Grooving' and you'll surely agree that Tonbe is a rare talent indeed.
Serious Edits Vol 16EXCLUSIVE
Review: Turns out Milos Djordjevic, AKA Serbian re-edit king Loshmi, has something of an Eddy Grant fixation. He must have, because two of the Guyanese-British reggae star's tracks get a Loshmi makeover here - namely 'Rampage' and 'Boys In The Street'. Elsewhere, 'No Way' is another reggae edit, 'Across The Floor' and 'In The Club' draw on unidentified boogie sources, Jimmy Bo Horne's 'Is It In' from 1980 gets reworked as 'Yes It Is', Salsoul Orchestra get the treatment on 'Right Size' and - perhaps tread carefully with this one! - 'Neon Rider' revisits the theme to a certain 80s TV series starring The Hoff...
Sexy LadyEXCLUSIVE
Review: Prolific Montenegrin producer Mitiko (real name Sasha Mitich) will need no introduction to nu-disco lovers by now, and here he brings us seven more very playable nuggets on a release you can call an EP or LP as you see fit! 'Are You Ready' revisits Fatback Band's classic 'Do The Bus Stop' - serviceably if perhaps a little unnecessarily - while Marley/Clapton classic 'I Shot The Sheriff' gets covered (not re-edited) inna disco style; the other five cuts are similarly 70s-themed, with the slow-moving, sleazy funk of 'On Ya' leading the charge for this reviewer on the strength of that squelch bassline alone.
Easy Dancin'EXCLUSIVE
Review: Serbia's Milos Dordevic, AKA Tonbe/Loshmi, proves his mastery of the nu-disco game in just two tracks here! Submission 1: opener 'Easy Dancin', which has a wistful female vocal, spacey Dave Lee-esque Rhodes doodles and, most importantly, what is possibly the greatest stab ever recorded (check it at 0:32). Submission 2: 'Ram Tam Tam', which (after another excellent stab) centres around a rising Hammond riff that never quite resolves - ideal for building energy levels to fever pitch just before you drop that "right, everyone up!" anthem. Four more solid nu-disco/boogie cuts are just the icing on what's already a pretty unmissable cake.
Lay DownEXCLUSIVE
Review: The 70s force is strong in this one... listen to this latest full-length collection from Montenegran producer Sasha Mitich, AKA Mitiko, and you may have to remind yourself, as this writer did, that you're actually listening to a brand new album and not a set of re-edits! There are no spangly Nang-esque synths here, no wonked-out Italo-cosmic excursions, just seven slabs of fat-assed funk ('Real Nasty'), lavish disco-soul ('Thank You For Tonight') and, perhaps most interestingly, a couple of tracks ('Lay Down On Me', 'Universal Love') that lean towards a mellower, more 'crossover' style ? la Bill Withers or The Bellamy Brothers.
